Patch, anyone? Northwest and KLM extended their
no-smoking policy to all flights except intercontinental flights to
and from Japan, effective with the spring schedule (March 29 for
KLM, April 1 for Northwest).
New routes at home: Reno Air launches nonstop
overnight Reno, Nev.-Atlanta service Feb. 26, with return flights
at dawn.
Eastwind will begin twice-daily Greensboro, N.C.-Washington
(Dulles) service Jan. 22.
Farther afield: Delta launches daily 767
Cincinnati-Munich, Germany, service May 15.
US Airways got DOT approval for its Philadelphia-Amsterdam,
Netherlands, service, slated to start April 29.
American will launch A300 Boston-London (Gatwick) service May 21
and 767 Dallas-Manchester, England, service April 5.
Aero California launches Los Angeles-Tijuana service Jan. 14 and
adds frequencies on several other routes. From Tijuana, it also
launches daily nonstops to Leon and direct service to Tampico.
Bottom line: Air France turned in a net profit
of $308 million for the first half of its fiscal year ended Sept.
30, with costs rising more slowly than revenue. But it cautioned
that the second half, winter and early spring, is not the kindest
period for airlines.
Lots of fleet news:
Virgin Atlantic, the launch customer for the A340-600, signed
an order for eight of the aircraft with options for another eight.
The aircraft is a stretched version of the A340-300 and will carry
380 passengers. Virgin chief Richard Branson wants to put double
beds in private rooms, a pub, a casino, showers and an exercise and
massage area on the lower deck.
Southwest took delivery of its first four 737-700s, a new
generation of the Boeing twinjet with transcontinental range.
Southwest, the launch customer, configures the plane for 137 seats.
The carrier, which has 70 on order, gets 20 this year.
Alaska Airlines said it is the first carrier to fly an
all-Stage 3 fleet, now that its 737-200s have all been hush-kitted.
All airlines must meet Stage 3 noise standards by 2000.
Turkish Airlines ordered 26 737-800s with options for 23
more.
Olympic Airways ordered two A340-300s, with two options, in
addition to an earlier order for two that will start arriving in
the third quarter. The carrier plans a two-class configuration.
Two-year-old Air Macau is buying its first plane, an A321-200
set for November delivery.
El Al ordered six 737s from Boeing, which was in a hot contest
with Airbus for the order.
Swissair is ordering six more A330s and another A321, and its
board approved an order for an A340-600.
Royal Jordanian made a less dramatic purchase: 182 Video
Walkman players for its long-haul flights.Signed: AMR Corp., American's parent, signed
agreements with SEPI, the Spanish state holding company, and Andes
Holding that will give it a minority equity interest in Aerolineas
Argentinas and Austral Lineas Argentinas.
Aer Lingus and World Airways signed a wet-lease agreement by which
Aer Lingus will operate a World MD-11 during its 1998 high season,
May-October, with a option to renew the deal in 1999. World will
supply the aircraft and cockpit crew.
Sharing:Reno Air has a code-share deal with
Qantas and began offering seats under the Qantas code on flights
from San Francisco to the Los Angeles gateway.
American and South African were cleared to add Seattle to their
burgeoning code share.
American and Aero California began sharing codes in the U.S.-Mexico
market. American's code shows up on Aero California's transborder
flights from Los Angeles to Culiacan, Durango, Hermosillo, La Paz
and Torreon, and between Tucson, Ariz., and Hermosillo.
Delta put its code on Swissair's Zurich-Singapore flights.
The mileage game: Reno Air added Thrifty Car
Rental and eight others, including Diners Club, to its QQuick Miles
frequent flyer program. Reno Air will award 500 frequent flyer
miles for every Thrifty rental by a QQuick Miles member. Diners
Club points can be converted to QQuick Miles and redeemed for
upgrades and tickets to choice Reno Air destinations.
Passengers on TWA flights that connect in St. Louis for the
carrier's flight to Paris will receive 1,000 bonus miles each way
through March 31.
New gizmo: British Airways has a new computer
tracking system that identifies routes likely to be affected by
weather or other adverse conditions. The system also figures out
which flights will be early or late, enabling the carrier to make
quicker customer service decisions.
New home: Lufthansa moved into partner United's
downtown San Francisco ticket office.
Spare change: Aer Lingus is the latest carrier
to participate in Change for Good, a program in which passengers
are encouraged to donate their leftover foreign change to benefit
Unicef. Irish actor/heartthrob Liam Neeson is the front man for the
program.
Book deal: Pan Am is selling a CommuterPass
booklet, good for 10 one-way flights, in two versions: one for
travel between major Northeast cities or Chicago and Florida, or
between Florida and Puerto Rico, at a cost of $1,499; and the other
for travel between Boston and New York, at $999. Both include all
taxes and passenger facilities charges and are fully changeable and
transferable.